New Beginnings

I used to think that life traveled a straight line. Soon I realized that a straight-line path through life is a myth and started thinking that perhaps the more accurate description is bumble bee lines – a zig here, a zag there but mostly a forward trajectory. Now I realize that life doesn’t follow any particular path and sometimes, you travel a complete loop-de-loop and end up exactly where you started. But the path traveled has provided you with so many experiences and opportunities for growth that even though you’re technically back where you started, everything feels brand new.

That’s why I decided to title this blog post new beginnings. Restart or reinstate or picking up where we left off doesn’t quite fit. It feels like we’re starting over but not in a pick-up-all-the-broken-pieces-and-carry-on kind of way but in a isn’t-it-funny-how-life-turns-out-and-here-we-are-and-couldn’t-be-happier-about-it kind of way. This time last year Dave was Cape Breton bound for a year of studying IT entrepreneurship, Simon was pretty much brand new, Harrier Hill was on the market and our lives were peppered with question marks. We had no real idea what the future held (who does?).

Fast forward a year and here we are. We’re happy to report that we’re sticking ’round the neighbourhood for awhile. The Harrier Hill menagerie is significantly smaller with Slipper and Nugget holding down the fort but our family is growing and we’re excited to meet our new baby girl come December. Simon is the sweetest little rapscallion you’ll ever meet. He’s about 2.5 feet of pure joy. He has a great sense of humour, a smile to melt your heart, a love of all things carbs and can’t spend enough time outdoors. He’s a snugglebug extraordinaire, an avid reader, climbs anything and everything and will steal your phone or remote faster than you can blink an eye.

Dave is working on his new company BidSquid.com and it’s coming along wonderfully. I’m still taking pictures although my photography blog doesn’t reflect it (at all). I’m slowly working towards revamping my business and soon it will morph from wonkyeye to Christine Whelan Photography and I’m incredibly excited about all the changes coming down the line.

Mostly, we’re settling into life as a family of three soon to be four. At risk of sounding cliche, I often find myself thinking, “these are the days.” I am so in love with our little family. I appreciate our beautiful property and the community we’ve come to love more than ever. Our question marks are falling away one by one and rather than feeling anxious about what lies ahead, I’m grateful and happy for the lives we’re living right now, in this moment.

So here we are. I figure this is the perfect space and time to start the Harrier Hill blog anew. I miss blogging – from sharing the day to day stories of our lives to our bigger moments, it’s a piece of me that’s been missing for some time now and I’m delighted to get this blog back in motion (even if it is just post after post of Simon because let’s be real, that’s what it will mostly be!).

If you’ve stuck with me this far, thanks and welcome. Cheers to new beginnings.